MGLN: Black Lagoon
by shanejayell
Summary: A VERY alternate universe for Nanoha. A innocent office lady comes to tailand, where she runs into pirates and life or death decisions....
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha or Black Lagoon, I'm only borrowing characters and scenarios from both. Note that some or all of the Nanoha characters will be at least mildly out of character, so be prepared.

MGLN: Black Lagoon

Nanoha Takamachi looked out over the water, once again struck by how different this place was to the life she had known. The brown haired office lady was used to the cooler environment of Japan, the bustle and chaos of her daily life. Bowing to her superiors in her white blouse and black skirt, ignoring leering gazes as she carried coffee or handled other demeaning tasks. She had seized on this courier job as the change to make herself stand out from the crowd but it seemed things weren't going too well.

"All right people," the tall, buxom redhead said as she stood defiantly on the deck of the sailboat, "cooperate, and there won't be any trouble." There was a obvious sense of confidence about her, she was a clear leader as she casually dominated the ship's crew, She wore just a ripped t-shirt and shorts, but the pistol she carried offset the casual look.

Beside her a younger blonde haired woman smiled a dangerous smile, but there was also a sadness in her eyes. "Don't cooperate," she said as she waved twin pistols about, "and there will be... consequences." She wore even less than the first woman, just a black t-shirt, ripped jean shorts and twin under arm holsters for two very big guns.

The redhead walked up to Nanoha, her expression frankly predatory, "And here's the business woman, just as we were told."

Nanoha gulped, wishing that she had changed after arriving from Japan, her black skirt, white shirt and vest standing out among the holiday travelers. "Y.., yes?" she managed, looking up to meet her eyes.

Calmly she grabbed the shoulder bag, tugging it free even as Nanoha tried to grab it, Flipping open the cover she rooted around, producing the CD that Nanoha had been entrusted back in Tokyo. Holding it in her hands she gave Nanoha a serious look, "Is this the disk?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nanoha managed to say despite her fear.

The blonde moved, her gun roaring as Nanoha felt something whiz by her nose frighteningly close. "What was that?" she asked, smoke curling up from the muzzle.

"Yes it is," Nanoha gave in, feeling her arms shaking, "Vice-president Chrono gave it to me himself."

"Hey Arf!" a male voice called from the patrol boat floating beside the ship, "the radio says another ship inbound! We only have a few minutes."

The blonde's eyes narrowed as she swept the passengers with her eyes, "All right, we're leaving, and you'll stay here nice and quiet for ten minutes. If you don't, I'll be back here... and you will not enjoy it."

"Let's go," Arf said, leaping casually from the edge of the deck down to the patrol boat beside the ship. She turned back and called, "Fate, move it!"

The blonde haired woman gave Nanoha a long look, then forcefully took her by the arm as she said, "You're coming with us."

"WHAT?!" Nanoha barely had the time to wail as she was carried down to the boat, the smaller vessel roaring away.

Meanwhile, in a office in the city of Roanapur, the head of the local crime syndicate Hotel Tokyo picked up the phone. "Yes, Arf?" Hayate Yagami asked, the brown haired woman wearing a stylish suit. She was young for this kind of thing, but raised her her 'uncle' Graham she had learned the dark ways of the world.

"We have the disk," Arf's voice crackled down the line, "do we meet at the planned coordinates?"

Hayete tapped the desk, her nails short but carefully shaped, a slight frown teasing her lips. "There's trouble," she said briskly, "my contacts say that Mrs, Harlown is aware of our snatch and grab plans and is taking steps."

"What kind of steps?" Arf asked, her voice a mix of excitement and concern.

Hayete debated softening the blow but decided frankness would be best. "I think she's contracted with the mercenary TSAB to stop you," she said seriously, "whatever the cost. They're also under orders to sanction the courier."

Arf frowned, "They aren't even going to keep the kid alive?"

"I believe they consider her expendable," Hayate said. She smiled grimly, "I'm mobilizing my own forces, but it'll take time to get the Strikers into position."

Arf nodded, knowing the crime lord didn't need to do this for just contractors, that she was doing it out of honor. "We'll just have to survive till you reach us," she said, "piece of cake."

"Good luck," Hayate said as she put the phone down. She looked up with a determined expression, "Signum!"

The tall, pink haired woman strode in, looking like a cross between a model and a soldier. Of course, she was still a soldier even though she had left the military, now heading up Hayate's private army. "Ma'am," Signum nodded as she stood at attention at the front of Hayate's desk.

"We have a job," Hayete gave a feral smile, "the TSAB are moving against Arf and her crew. We're going to stop them."

Signum looked thoughtful, "We have land based assets, but we're light on the sea."

"Send Subaru and Teanna gown to the docks," Hayate leaned forward, "tell them to contact Arisa and let her know I'm calling in her marker."

"Arisa Bannings won't be happy," Signum cautioned.

Hayate gave a small smile, "We owe Arf and Fate. I will not let them down."

Out at sea the boat raced along, nearly lifting off the water as Arf sat at the helm. "You can't be serious," Nanoha said weakly, "the company can't want to kill me!"

Fate made a annoyed sound, "That disk has proof your bosses are up to their neck in illegal dealings. Do you really think they'd not kill to keep it a secret?"

A light brown haired man emerged from the back of the vessel, his hair slightly shaggy as it fell over his round glasses. "I've broken the first layer of encryptions," Yuuno said cheerfully, "it looks like the disc contains a proposal to break the nuclear equipment embargo."

You could have heard a pin drop on the bridge as the three women digested that. "You've got to be kidding," Nanoha whimpered softly, turning and running to the hatch up to the deck.

"Aw man," Arf reached out to put the boat on autopilot.

"No," Fate shook her head as she said quietly, "I'll handle it."

Nanoha sat on the deck as the sea spray stund her cheeks, mixing with a few bitter tears. It was all impossible, there was no way that the company that she had loyaly served since she left college could be doing this. Yet, Nanoha found herself wondering why they had chosen such a lawless part of the world for the trade she was involved in....

Fate pushed up the hatch as the blonde gracefully walked over to where Nanoha sat. With surprising grace she sat, looking out at the water as she settled beside Nanoha. She gave Nanoha another sad eyed glance as she said, "If you want, we can call your boss Lindy Harlown." At Nanoha's confused look Fate smiled, "Yuuno, out tech guy, is nearly a genius, if anyone can get a satellite hook up for you he can."

"What good would that do?" Nanoha asked, realizing she was beginning to accept their point of view.

"At least you'd hear it from her own mouth," Fate offered. She looked out at the water, her expression remote as she murmured, "Just like mother...."

"Hmm?" Nanoha looked over at her.

"Nothing," Fate flushed slightly as she looked out into the distance, her eyes narrowing. She got up, frowning as she pointed and asked, "You see that?"

Nanoha got up, following Fate's gave as she said, "I think... it's a ship!"

"Coming right at us...," Fate did not sound happy as she loosened her guns. "Arf!" she called down into the ship.

"I see him," Arf yelled, "but there's more ships coming in on each side, too! If we go for him, at least we're only facing one."

"Got it," Fate said grimly as she drew each of her guns with a eerie gracefullness. She looked over at Nanoha, "You'd better get bellow."

"You're facing them all alone?" Nanoha asked disbelievingly, hesitating before going down the hatch.

"I'll be fine," Fate growled out as she braced herself, the other boat roaring in close to their patrol boat, "now go!"

Nanoha stepped fown into the boat, but she couldn't move away from the hatch. 'She looked so fierce,' she found herself thinking, 'but there's such a sadness in her eyes too! Why would such a pretty girl be sad like that?'

Nervously Nanoha pushed up the hatch, her eyes widening at the terrible yet beautiful sight before her. Fate held a pistol in each hand, moving about gracefully as she fired. The flashes of red coming from the attackers almost seemed like a counterpoint to her graceful dance, the thunder of the guns like music.

"No!" Nanoha yelped as a bullet caught Fate on the arm, her deadly dance faltering for the first time.

Fate yelped in pain, "Aah!" Her suddenly nerveless hand spasmed in pain, the pistol dropping to the deck as she fired desperately with her other hand.

Seeing Fate in danger Nanoha found herself scrambling onto the deck, hurring forward to pick up the pistol. Drawing on memories of watching Fate fire she ran up to Fate's side, aiming with a slightly shaking hand. The gun roared in her hand, the jerking power of the weapon yanking her hand and arms so hard she cried out.

"Nanoha!" Fate yelped as she fired her pistol, the two standing side by side as they fired, trying to keep the mercenaries back.

"Here comes another one!" Arf yelled up to the deck.

Shockingly they did not attack the boat but instead raced at the mercenaries. Arf's eyes went wide as the radio crackled, "This is Subaru, Hayate sent us! Sorry for taking so long!"

Several other ships fell into step around them as they finally sailed on safely towards shore. Nanoha followed the crew up to the docks at they met Hayate, passing over the disk as ordered, then standing by as representatives of Nanoha's company appeared. From their grim looks and Hayate's smile she was driving a hard bargain for the return of the disk, a bargain they had to accept.

"Miss Nanoha," Hayate surprised her with a slight smile, followed by her lieutenants Signum and Shamal, "I've heard good things about you from Teana and Suburu. You showed much nerve and backbone."

"Ma'am," Nanoha blushed.

Hayate smiled as she added, "You know, I don't think you need necessarily return to the life of a office lady." As she got in the car she added, "If you're interested, call me."

Nanoha watched her, remembering the sheer terror she had felt facing gunfire beside Fate. Terror... and a certain undeniable degree of excitement. As the rep for her company approached she listened to him calmly, then politely said that she no longer intended to work for them.

Fate leaned against the loading dock of the pier, Arf and Yuuno waiting nearby as they watched Nanoha walked up to them. "Turned him down?" Arf guessed wisely.

"Yes," Nanoha admitted, "I don't quite know what I'll do now, though."

Fate, Yuuno and Arf exchanged a long look, almost as if they were communicating silently. "Well," Fate smiled, "I know a certain ship who could use a extra hand... if she's willing to learn some new skills."

Nanoha surprised her by taking her hands, "Oh, thank you so much!"

Fate blushed red, "Hey, I didn't decide on this! It was Arf!"

"Thank you, too," Nanoha bowed to Arf who was looking over at the blushing Fate with amusement.

"And who bandaged your arm so cutely?" Arf asked, nodding toward the white cloth tied with a cute bow.

"Leave me alone," Fate blushed, not looking at Nanoha who had, indeed, tied it like that.

End...?

Notes: this is a compressed, somewhat altered version of the first two episodes of Black Lagoon. I hope no one objects to my casting Lindy and Chrono as the villains of the piece. Heh!


	2. Chapter 2

MGLN: Black Lagoon

Two

The Yellow Flag was a legendary bar in the lawless city, a place were hitmen, assassins, prostitutes and drug dealers could meet safely, on neutral ground. Established by a veteran friend of Arf's it had been around nearly as long as the Lagoon Company, along with the Strikers and other organizations.

"Hey, Amy!" Arf called as the tall, buxom redhead lead her crew in for the required victory drinks, "How's it going?"

"Better until you came in," Amy Limiette shot back, her brown hair trimmed short. The former intelligence office swept over the group, blinking as she hit the slightly battered looking office lady. "Bit far from home, Miss?" she asked.

"Nanoha Takamachi," she smiled back shyly, her reddish brown hair falling around her face, two hair ribbons keeping most of it back.

"Our new crew member," Yuuno Scrya said, his brown hair tied back into a ponytail. He looked at Arf, "What are we drinking tonight?"

"Beer for myself," Arf said as she took a seat.

"Wine, please," Yuuno smiled.

"Rum," Fate Testarossa said firmly, "and not the cheap crap, either."

"Wine here too," Nanoha decided to play it safe, well aware of the customers looking her over.

"You got it," Amy said as she smoothly delivered the drinks. Looking over at Fate she scolded, "Try not to blow up my bar again, Fate."

"That wasn't my fault!" Fate protested, "If the Liese twins hadn't decided to attack me here, nothing would have happened!"

"Yeah, yeah," Amy shook her head as she went to serve Ishida the Cleaner, the former surgeon who cleaned crime scenes of bodies and evidence.

"Anyway," Arf smiled at Nanoha, "welcome to the Lagoon company. We'll put you up at our offices for now, and once you have a job or two under your belt we'll find you a apartment."

"Thank you," Nanoha blushed slightly, not at all looking like the fierce woman who had used a pistol to help save Fate.

"I also want to get you on a firing range," Arf added, "you could be one hell of a back up with some training...."

"Back up, huh?" Fate wondered as she tossed back a cup of rum. "How can I trust a back up that won't drink with me?" she wondered aloud.

"Fate," Yuuno cautioned.

Fate poured out a glass of rum then she pushed it towards Nanoha. "Come on, drink up. Or do you want to be one of those protected girls like those?" she asked, nodding pointedly to several hookers standing off to one side.

Nanoha met Fate's eyes, then surprised her by picking it up and tossing it back smoothly. "I may not drink with salary men," she thumped the cup down, "but I can hold my liquor."

"Not bad," Arf murmured as Fate gave Nanoha a look of respect and both continued to drink at a more normal pace.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The headquarters of Hotel Tokyo was a busy place, the men and women of the Strikers hurrying to perform tasks and report news to their leader. Vita looked cool as the redheaded teenager walked into Hayate Yagami's office, the mallet she used as a street fighting weapon slung over her back.

"You had a report?" Hayate asked, the seemingly young woman's brown hair tied back by two clips on either side of her face.

"Something kinda odd," Vita admitted, scratching her head under her favorite hat. "Apparently two women in maids outfits are tearing up the town."

"Maid uniforms?" Hayate blinked. She rather liked dressing her operatives in distinctive costumes, the more stylish the better, but a maid uniform was too difficult to move in. She gave her second in command Signum a thoughtful look, 'Though at home might be fun...'

Signum blushed, the busty pink haired woman having a very good idea where their boss was going mentally. "Why are they tearing up the town?" she asked.

"According to the older woman," Vita told them, "they're looking for Suzuka Tsukimura, the lost heir to the Tsukimura fortune."

"Any signs she's in town?" Hayate asked, frowning as she tried to remember who's name she had heard this Suzuka mentioned with. It sounded familiar, but where...?

"I don't know," Signum admitted, "but I can put our people on it."

"Do so," Hayate ordered, "I don't like random factors running around this town. We need to step on this, as soon as possible."

"Yes, ma'am," both Vita and Signum said formally before heading out.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The drinking and conversation in the Yellow Flag drowned out the arrival of the taxi, the two women in black dresses and aprons dealing politely with the driver before they turned to face the bar itself. The shorter woman murmured, "This looks worse than the last bar, sister."

The taller woman nodded, violet hair falling into her eyes as she said, "But we must carry on until we find her."

Nanoha, despite being more than a bit buzzed, was aware enough to look up as the doors swung in, two women standing in the light before moving calmly into the bar. "Maids?" she blinked, taking in their strange garb.

"What the heck?" Fate blinked, the blond feeling a odd sensation of forboding. These women were dangerous, no matter their odd looks.

"Barkeep," the taller woman nodded to Amy politely as she introduced them, "I am Noel Ehrlichkeit, and this is my sister Farin."

"Pleased to meet you," Amy said, eying them warily, "what can I do for you?"

Noel raised her voice as Farin moved to cover her back, "Ladies and gentlemen of the bar! We are looking for Suzuka Tsukimura. We have confirmed she is in the city, and we demand that you bring her to us. If you do not do so in five minutes, we will have to become... impolite."

"Are you kidding?" Amy yelped, "Why would we help you?"

Farin looked over at Amy, "Because if you don't we'll start with burning this bar down and go from there."

Amy visibly paled, then threw a covert glance over at Arf as she silently mouthed, 'Help!'

"Aw man," Arf groaned, knowing that they owed Amy at least one or two favors. She collected the group and they walked away from the bar while talking quietly.

"How do we want to handle this?" Yuuno asked warily, thankfully feeling not too tipsy from his several glasses of wine.

"Don't see a lot of choice," Arf admitted with a sigh. She looked at gim steadily, "Get Nanoha outside and grab the car, we'll need it."

"And what about you two?" Nanoha asked worriedly as she looked at Fate and Arf.

"We get to dance with our two friends over there," Fate said with a cocky smile. Reassuringly she added to Nanoha, "Don't worry. It's possible they're just bluffing."

"Your five minutes are up!" Noel declared as she coolly pulled a shotgun from under her skirt, cocked it then opened fire, blowing away several bottles as Amy dove for cover. Even as Noel turned to fire on the rest of the bar Farin produced a submachine gun and added to the noise and destruction.

"Okay, not bluffing!" Fate kicked a table over for cover even as Nanoha and Yuuno crawled carefully for the side door. AS they made it out she breathed a sigh of relief, one noticed by Arf.

"Worried about her?" Arf asked.

"Of course I am, she's new," Fate said defensively.

"Right," Arf half smiled as they turned towards the crazed maids.

To be continued!

Notes: I'm having Noel and Farin channel the deadly Roberta and Fabiola from Black Lagoon. Sorry if they're a lot OOC.


	3. Chapter 3

MGLN: Black Lagoon

Three

"Come on," Yuuno said as they hurried to the car, the brown haired young man jumping in the older car and starting the engine. He popped open the glove box, revealing a worn but serviceable looking pistol, passing it to Nanoha as he said, "Here."

Nanoha popped out the clip as Fate had shown her earlier, checking to see if it was loaded even as Yuuno pulled up beside the side door of the Yellow Flag. "Should we go in after them?" Nanoha asked him worriedly.

"Oh, I think they'll be fine," Yuuno answered, knowing that Arf and Fate were two of the most dangerous women in the city. 'In fact, they're probably having fun in there,' he added mentally.

Within the bar there was madness and chaos as weapons blazed and men and women dived for cover or died. "Crazy damn...," Fate cursed as the blond leaped up and over the table they were using for cover, returning fire to the crazed maids.

Shockingly the two women in black dresses and white aprons seemed to shrug off the weapon's fire, standing up to the barrage even as they tried to draw a bead on Fate. "What the...?" Arf blinked as her thoughts raced. "Kevlar lined maid outfits?!" she blinked.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Amy wailed as she crouched behind the bar, her mind racing as she tabulated the damage to her poor bar. "Could you homicidal maniacs take it outside!?" she roared, ducking as another bottle of booze exploded. She watched Fate balance on the bar a moment then hop down beside Amy. "I'm sure this is your fault somehow," Amy grumbled.

Fate held up a gun and popped off a few shots as she answered, "Yeah, right. The first time I saw them was today."

Noel Ehrlichkeit calmly worked her pump action shotgun, blasting away and reloading as she mildly asked her younger sister, "Do you think we should move on?"

"Well, the mistress isn't here," Farin said as she stood at Noel's back, sweeping the machine gun back and forth, laying down fire to keep people's heads down. She grunted as a bullet bounced off her shoulder armor, "I saw some people sneaking out. Should we follow them?"

"Lets," Noel agreed. She put the shotgun on her shoulder as she bowed formally, "Ladies and gentlemen, we must bid you farewell."

"Not until," Fate started only to have Farin open up on her with the machine gun, sending her scrambling for cover.

"It's rude to interrupt," Farin chided politely.

Noel surprisingly curtsied to them all, her bow graceful as she said, "We will not meet again."

There was a clunking sound and several objects rolled out from under her skirt as the two maids backed up towards the front door. Arf saw the familiar round, metal objects and cursed violently before yelping, "Grenades!"

The surviving fighters screamed, diving for cover. Making a split second call Fate grabbed Amy and ran out the side door, Arf hot on her heels. Nanoha threw open the doors as Arf and Fate dove in, leaving a stunned Amy to watch her bar as all the lower floor windows blew out in a sheet of flame.

"Holy shit," Yuuno blinked.

"Step on it," Arf slammed the front door, noting with some amusement that Fate had somehow landed in Nanoha's lap, "those two crazies are still alive."

"Right!" Yuuno squealed the tires as they peeled out of the lot, even as two figures emerged unharmed from the burning, blasted bar.

"Well, that was invigorating," Noel noted mildly, a bit of smoke curling off her maid's cap, otherwise looking mostly unruffled.

"They're certainly leaving in a hurry," Farin noted as she pulled out a near transparent line from underneath her skirt, "should we follow?"

"Of course," Noel nodded as Farin swung the weighted .line then threw, the weighted end striking Yuuno's car and digging in. The two women used the line and a hopping kind of run to reach the car, clambering up on the back of the racing vehicle to the passengers' shock.

"What are they, ninjas?" Arf complained as she held on for dear life, Yuuno skewing them into wild turns and swerves.

Back at the bar Amy was looking at the burnt out wreck of the bar, then shook herself. 'It's time to notify my silent partner,' she thought glumly, dialing her cellphone.

At the headquarters of Hotel Tokyo Hayate Yagami listened, the brown haired woman's expression oddly calm. "We'll compensate you for damages," she reassured Amy, "I need the Flag open as a meeting place if nothing else."

"Thank you," Amy sighed, relieved.

Concluding the call Hayate looked thoughtfully off into the distance. "This sounds interesting," her lieutenant Signum noted, the beautiful pink haired woman having listened in via speakerphone, "but not our concern."

"Those maids are going after Arf and Fate," Hayate said as she got up, "I owe the two of them." She looked at the file on her desk, the photos and other data that had just arrived, "Besides, I think we could turn this to our advantage."

Vita gave a feral smile as the redheaded street fighter cracked her knuckles. "Do we mobilize the Strikers?" she asked.

"Yes," Hayate nodded before adding, "head for the docks, around the Lagoon's berth. I'm certain Arf will head there."

"Where do we want to go?" Yuuno demanded, weaving the car as the bombed along a nearly deserted stretch of road. News spread fast in the city, and apparently no one wanted to be on the road with these maniacs loose.

"The docks," Arf made a snap judgment as she said, "we can get better weapons on the Lagoon!"

Fate fired her pistols up through the roof, shooting two handed as she tried to nail the stubbornly persistent maids. "This is crazy," she dropped a empty pistol as she complained, "I'm gonna blow the roof off soon!"

Nanoha popped the clip and put a fresh one in Fate's pistol, handing it to her as the younger maid tried for the window. "No!" Nanoha kicked at her, making her dodge backward and giving Fate a chance to fire off a few shots.

"What are these things, twin Terminators?" Yuuno demanded as they bounced over a rise, the docks up ahead. Someone had thoughtfully shut the gates, but he put pedal to the metal and the old ford crashed through the steel mesh easily. He skewed to the side as he slammed on the brakes, both to try to dislodge their adversaries as well as to slow the car.

The maids leaped clear as the car plowed into a pile of crates, sending pieces of wood flying everywhere. "Are you all right, Farin?" Noel asked, the taller maid straightening out her wrinkled uniform with cool dignity.

"I'm fine," Farin cleaned herself up, noting a singe mark where a bullet had actually scuffed up her white apron.

Arf picked herself up, blinking away the dizziness as she noted they'd come to a stop. "We're alive," she noted, shaking her orange red hair out.

"And so are they," Yuuno shook his head, a bit of blood on his face from where he'd banged his head on the steering wheel, "what the hell are they made of?!"

Fate shook off her own dizziness, checking her twin pistols while giving Nanoha a worried glance. Reassured that the other woman was all right she looked up at Arf, "I'm going out after them."

"You can't...," Nanoha yelped, grabbing onto Fate's arm.

"I have to," Fate said with a shrug. She looked at Arf and told her seriously, "If you see a chance, run like hell."

"No way," Yuuno and Arf said nearly together, making Fate laugh weakly.

Pistols in hand Fate broke away from the car, firing at a maid with each hand as she tried to get at closer range. The ladies drew their respective shotgun and machine gun, but Fate was a bit too close for either weapon without risking shooting each other.

"You are very good," Noel abandoned her shotgun for a wicked looking knife, "tell me where our mistress is and we'll let you and your friends live."

"I don't know, damn it!" Fate cursed, leaping to dodge a knife thrust while firing on Farin.

"But I do," the cool voice told them as silenced shots rang out, shooting away guns and knives with precision fire. The three woman looked up at a pile of shipping crates, where Hayate Yagami stood calmly waiting, flood lights lighting up the battlefield.

Noel looked up at her dangerously as she growled, "Where is she?"

Hayate looked up the dock as she simply called, "Ladies?"

The two women walked out from the shadows, the taller blonde in the lead. Arisa Bannings looked annoyed, probably at being up at this hour, while behind her her lover and wife followed, looking in stunned shock at the maids.

"Mistress Suzuka!" the maids cried as they ran over to her.

"Noel, Farin," Suzuka Tsukimura, more commonly known as Suzuka Bannings, said warmly, hugging them both.

Hayate had descended from the crates and was standing by Arf as they had their joyous reunion. "I'm rather annoyed I didn't think of this sooner," Hayate admitted.

It took a while, but Nanoha eventually got a explanation. Some years back Arisa Bannings and Suzuka Tsukimura had been classmates, and secretly lovers in a exclusive woman's college. They had returned home to tell their wealthy families they were in love, but the Tsukimura family didn't take it at all well. They threatened to put Suzuka into a asylum if she didn't go straight, not to mention disowning her. Arisa fled with her lover, eventually ending up here where Arisa's inheritance bought a nice fleet of small ships she used for shipping and occasional piracy.

"So all of you know Suzuka," Nanoha noted wryly, "but not as Suzuka Tsukimura?"

"She always uses Bannings," Fate shrugged, "hell, they were officially married up at the Belka Church a few years back."

"It's good to see you both," Suzuka said as she looked the two maids over, "but what are you doing here?"

"And why didn't you phone us?" Arisa added crankily, "We're in the phone book."

"Oops?" Farin smiled weakly.

Noel formally knelt as she said, "Forgive me for bringing bad news, but your mother and father were killed in a plane crash some weeks ago. Your father never changed his will, you are the heir to your family's fortune and our loyalty."

"I'm not moving," Suzuka said while instinctively taking her lover's arm.

"Then we will happily serve you here," Farin said cheerfully.

"They're staying?" Yuuno went pale, imagining the kind of mayhem they could cause.

Arf nodded thoughtfully, "Looks like things are gonna get pretty interesting."

To be continued?

Notes: Observant readers may have noticed I mentioned Arisa Bannings in chapter one. It was my plan from the get go to have her be married to Suzuka, and when I decided to do the Roberta story using her and her maids was a no-brainer. Why did Hayate reunite mistress and maids? Well, now Noel and Farin owe her a favor, and I'm sure Hayate can come up with uses for a ninja maid or two.


End file.
